Yoshida's assists have been impressive: 8.8 app in pool play
Her scoring today was twice her tournament avg, so maybe they found an exploit.
She's 29 in October, and she's only 5'5. Is she a defensive demon? I picture her getting posted up frequently in her limited minutes off the bench in the WNBA.

Her teammate, Tokashiki, came to SEA not knowing any English, so I wouldn't be surprised if Yoshida doesn't know English. A forward can probably get away with not knowing English (as shown by Tokashiki and Dantas), but I would think it'd be pretty important that the PG knows English in the WNBA.

Does Harding know Belarusian? Probably not, but I think it would help.

I was kinda impressed by Isil Alben of Turkey today. Root was excited about owning the rights of her teammate. Forget that. Give this player a look instead.
Downfalls.... not a great thee point or FT shooter, but she's tallied up 15 stl in 5 games. She kinda exploited the awfulness of Izzy Castro to keep Turkey in the game today. 5'8 and 30 yr old

_________________Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

I was kinda impressed by Isil Alben of Turkey today. Root was excited about owning the rights of her teammate. Forget that. Give this player a look instead.
Downfalls.... not a great thee point or FT shooter, but she's tallied up 15 stl in 5 games. She kinda exploited the awfulness of Izzy Castro to keep Turkey in the game today. 5'8 and 30 yr old

If you consider this assessment to be "excited":

root_thing wrote:

Cakir is very thin. The listings for her are 5-11 or 6-0, 132 to 136 lbs. Some people are wiry strong, but I don't see much muscle definition on her. So, that's a challenge right there before you get to skill level. On the positive side, Cakir plays in the Turkish League which is pretty tough. Because Fenerbahce is a top team, they're always in EuroLeague matching up against the best competition outside of the WNBA. Just in practice against her own teammates, Cakir has faced the likes of Charles, McCoughtry, Pondexter, Taurasi, Taylor, Lavender, Quigley, Zellous, and Coleman. She won't be surprised by the level of competition... which is not to say she won't struggle anyway.

Since Cakir just turned 23 last month, maybe we can compare her to Alben in seven years.

On a different note, I think Colson has done a good job for San Antonio. She's not starter material, but I think most teams would be happy to have her as a backup PG.

You pointed out her name means lucky. If you weren't excited about the idea of this player possibly joining training camp, then you managed to stir interest.

Toad was inquiring

toad455 wrote:

Is she ever coming over?!

Toad was ready to add her to the roster

toad455 wrote:

So if she comes over next year, we might have:
PG: Boyd/Cakir

Until that mysterious poster LFO threw cold water on the whole idea by saying

LFO wrote:

Do not sleep on Barbee

Obviously he's more excited about Barbee than Cakir, unless he's just bluffing. And you don't really have room for new players unless maybe Wright decides to retire alongside Cash.

It's all relative. Cakir and Barbee are exciting for 3RD ROUND DRAFT PICKS. Just like Laimbeer said that Danielle Ballard was one of the best UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS. They're the best players in the lower strata. It doesn't imply that they're going to make the team -- only that they're maybe more than ordinary training camp fodder. In other words, instead of a 10% chance of making the team, they have a 25% chance.

As far as the Cakir pictures go, I was just having fun. People were bummed out that Allen didn't make the Australian team, so I pointed out that NY still had another player in the Olympics. As I was looking for a picture, I found out that it was coincidentally Cakir's birthday. So, I decided to go hog-wild. But once people started asking if she was a serious prospect, then I responded with a serious answer.

Root, I didn't mean for you to get defensive about having any level of excitement in Cakir. It's good to be up on all the possibilities for the team. Heck, I was interested in Baric for more than a minute, and that didn't pan out too well. I was just looking for a way to segue from the previous discussion of that Turkish national team member to another one in Alben, who I think may be more ready for the WNBA level.

Of course, it was just this one game that I watched, so I'm really not that high on anybody mentioned in this thread.

_________________Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

Root, I didn't mean for you to get defensive about having any level of excitement in Cakir. It's good to be up on all the possibilities for the team. Heck, I was interested in Baric for more than a minute, and that didn't pan out too well. I was just looking for a way to segue from the previous discussion of that Turkish national team member to another one in Alben, who I think may be more ready for the WNBA level.

Of course, it was just this one game that I watched, so I'm really not that high on anybody mentioned in this thread.

No offense taken. Just making my position clear. A lot of people on this board seem to see things in black and white. Players are great or they suck. If a young player isn't an immediate success, they're quickly labeled a bust. To me, the picture is much more complex. So, I can like players on some level without being totally enthusiastic. And as I've said before, young players are moving targets. They're evolving, so it's folly to think that we can "know" how the vast majority will end up. Every interview I've ever read with a GM or scout, in any sport, people say the same thing: drafts are a crapshoot. I think the coaching, the system, a player's role, social adjustment (to the city and teammates), and the personnel situation (is their path blocked by a star?) are all factors in development.

I heard all this four years ago about Dumerc when looked so good in London. She sucked as a WNBA player.

Thank you, a voice of reason....

I think it's really hard to make a judgment about a player's chances of getting in a WNBA rotation from international play, for a variety of reasons.

One, of course, is that the style of play and quality of the players is considerably different, but another is that international players have often played together on their national team since their teens. They work better together in these situations, much better in many cases, than they would in the W, with a week or so of practice and then it's time to go win games.

Obviously, more than a few international players can make a difference in the WNBA, but I don't know that the Olympics or World Championships are enough to make a solid assessment.

I heard all this four years ago about Dumerc when looked so good in London. She sucked as a WNBA player.

Thank you, a voice of reason....

I think it's really hard to make a judgment about a player's chances of getting in a WNBA rotation from international play, for a variety of reasons.

One, of course, is that the style of play and quality of the players is considerably different, but another is that international players have often played together on their national team since their teens. They work better together in these situations, much better in many cases, than they would in the W, with a week or so of practice and then it's time to go win games.

Obviously, more than a few international players can make a difference in the WNBA, but I don't know that the Olympics or World Championships are enough to make a solid assessment.

Clay you are right. She just looked so dang in the tourney especially that first half against the US. I'm not saying she'd be a game changer but she could provide a spark like Phillips or others. And p-light you were ready to all hail Schimmel to the hall of fame- until she was your point guard. Nikki Three-sley was the second coming of Ticha..until she played for the Dream. I see a pattern here

I heard all this four years ago about Dumerc when looked so good in London. She sucked as a WNBA player.

Thank you, a voice of reason....

I think it's really hard to make a judgment about a player's chances of getting in a WNBA rotation from international play, for a variety of reasons.

One, of course, is that the style of play and quality of the players is considerably different, but another is that international players have often played together on their national team since their teens. They work better together in these situations, much better in many cases, than they would in the W, with a week or so of practice and then it's time to go win games.

Obviously, more than a few international players can make a difference in the WNBA, but I don't know that the Olympics or World Championships are enough to make a solid assessment.

Clay you are right. She just looked so dang in the tourney especially that first half against the US. I'm not saying she'd be a game changer but she could provide a spark like Phillips or others. And p-light you were ready to all hail Schimmel to the hall of fame- until she was your point guard. Nikki Three-sley was the second coming of Ticha..until she played for the Dream. I see a pattern here

I always thought Nikki Teasley was overrated, all the way back to the initial trade that brought her to the Sparks. She was never as good as Ukari Figgs.

Schimmel showed some promise as a rookie, but it quickly fizzled once the league adjusted to her.

_________________Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable